The Many Lives of Wari Dogs: A Summary of Zooarchaeological and Isotopic Research

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Dogs in the Archaeological Record" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The widespread perception of the dog as humans’ closest companion species allows their remains to be used as proxies for human diet and mobility patterns. But these highly social animals held their own variable social and economic roles. Therefore, dog remains can provide information on the organization of animal management systems in past complex societies. Considering dogs as members of multispecies assemblages, especially pastoral herds, this study investigates the roles of the dogs recovered at archaeological sites associated with the Wari Empire. The combination of standard zooarchaeological methods, multi-isotopic (C, N, O, and Sr) analyses of the selected samples, and literature review reveal that the Wari dogs’ life trajectories were mainly local but not uniform. They lived as hunters/pastoral dogs, lap dogs, or ignored scavengers. Many were also buried among humans, suggesting important ideological functions. The examined dog remains also include three individuals tentatively identified as ancestors of the Peruvian Naked Dog, an indigenous Andean breed today treated as a Peruvian national symbol. This study argues that the Wari dogs’ osteobiographies reveal not merely their dependence on humans but also complex multispecies relationships and the Wari agents’ economic focus on local environmental resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Dogs in the Archaeological Record   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36631.0